Monday, January 11, 2010

A Poem is Forever :: Donarem Pateras :: IV:8

[An index to my blogs of Horace's odes can be found at the end of today's blog. It will be updated blogly—on the analogy of 'daily'?]

Once again, in today's ode, Horace tells us of the value of poetry.

Poetry, he says, is better than the finest gifts, even paintings by Parrhasius (Παρράσιος Athens, late 5th C BC) or sculptures by Scopas (Σκόπας b. Greek Island of Paros, c395-350 BC). Public tribute written in stone is nothing compared to the epic poem by Ennius of Calabria (c239-169 BC), called the Annales, in which the entire history of Rome is retold ending with the time of the Punic Wars and Hannibal and the general Scipio Africanus, who returned from the wars enriched with nothing but his name.

Like some psychoanalyst, I am trying to figure out why Horace is so obsessed with telling us that poetry is important. Perhaps he has a bone to pick with his own society.

Underlying this poem and the others like it is the feeling that Horace does not think that poetry is given its due. What else is new? Such a criticism could be leveled against American society. Just ask any publisher of poetry or do the math to figure out how many seconds of air time in any given day are devoted to Garrison Keillor's poetry reading.

Horace has a point to make and he makes it well. Poetry trumps the finest pateras (those shallow drinking saucers), the most beautiful tripodas (those three-legged stands), even words carefully chiseled in marble. Poetry makes it possible to sing of Aeacus (son of Zeus and Aegina), of Hercules, of Tyndareus (father of Castor and Pollux, protectors of seamen) , and of Liber Bacchus.

I'd like to agree with Horace, but I can't completely. A poem may make a person immortal, but so does a pyramid.